“Buy American,” Project Labor Agreements and Healthy Terminals Act Pass the Assembly

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO thanks Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19) for posting three pro-labor bills today and thanks all the legislators who voted in favor of these pieces of legislation.  All three bill have already passed the State Senate and are now on Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk for consideration.

“Buy American” legislation (A-5064: Verrelli / Giblin).  The bill passed unanimously. The bill requires the use of American-manufactured steel and iron in public road and bridge construction. If signed, the law will take a big step forward in creating manufacturing jobs throughout the nation.  The Steelworkers Union was a strong proponent of the measure and we thank the prime sponsors – both union leaders – for their advocacy.

A-5376/S-3414 (DeAngelo / Egan) expands the permissible use of project labor agreements to additional construction projects and also promotes workforce diversity.  The bill passed by a vote of 59-11-3.  We thank the prime sponsors, both of whom are local union leaders, for their advocacy.

Please CLICK HERE to see the full roll call of the vote

A-2487 (Quijano / Benson): The “Healthy Terminals Act,” advocated for by SEIU 32BJ, UNITE HERE and RWDSU, would require certain airport and train station workers to be paid increased wages and benefits. The bill passed by a vote of 47-25-0.

Please CLICK HERE to see the full roll call of the vote

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO thanks all the affiliated unions that worked tirelessly to advance these bills and we respectfully ask for Governor Murphy’s support in enacting them into law.